Yoga and Breast Cancer: From Awareness to Personal Experience

The Season of Pink

October is upon us, and with it comes Breast Cancer Awareness month, a campaign
designed to increase consciousness of the disease and encourage early detection.

It is estimated that 1 in 8 American women will develop invasive
breast cancer in their lifetime. Hence
the potent significance of pink this month – intended to trigger a collective
realization as to just how serious and pervasive this epidemic is. We see swaths of the symbolic color in store
windows and lapel ribbons and even increasingly on the nation's football fields
and NASCAR speedways.
Pink isn’t just
for women struggling with cancer; it is for all of us – united in the struggle.

Inspired by the many amazing women, families, organizations, and
advocates in this country who work to fight breast cancer, we’re bringing pink into the yoga room. Our
THRIVE Yoga Eggs are
special edition Pink Namasteggs (ergonomic yoga blocks in our
classic size and shape) made in the USA with our exclusive 100% biodegradable
ECO foam.Ten percent of gross sales of the Pink Eggs go to
support organizations assisting people working to thrive and survive after a
breast cancer diagnosis.

YOGA vs. CANCER

In the ever expanding realm of cancer treatment, anecdotal
evidence and hard science line up to suggest that the practice of yoga has a
lot to offer the multi-faceted fight against breast cancer. Indeed, personal stories and studies both
reveal that yoga contributes to making both the healthy and sick of those
living with cancer
healthier. A 2014 study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology
found that a regular yoga practice can ease and reduce levels of depression and
anxiety, chronic pain, and exhaustion for women battling breast cancer.

More and more research suggests that ongoing and appropriate
exercise not only improves patients’ quality of life, but in many cases can
also enhance immunity and aid the body in its efforts to fight cancer. The
American Cancer Society currently recommends that
cancer survivors engage in a minimum of 150 minutes of exercise each week, and more
and more doctors are suggesting patients turn to yoga. Yoga serves as both a form of physical
exercise and a method of bolstering the nervous system during an incredibly stressful
time of life.

A PERSONAL STORY

Lynda Meeder, an E-RYT 500 and Integrated Movement Therapy®
certified therapist, understands first-hand just how vital a role yoga can
play in the daily battle against cancer. She
teaches a class for women living with cancer each week at
Luma Yoga in
Santa Cruz, California.

“Many of the women I work with talk about how they hated yoga
before they were diagnosed with cancer, but that this class has changed that
for them because they see and feel the benefits of a therapeutic experience
that addresses not just the whole body, but the whole person.” Meeder says
students report feeling less angry, note reduced stress and blood pressure
levels, and even feel a rare absence of chronic pain. “One woman told me this was
the one time all
week when she didn’t feel pain
,” says Meeder.

Roughly 80 percent of the weekly students at Luma Yoga’s class are
women who have (or have had) breast cancer.
Meeder’s class,
sponsored by the
Palo Alto Medical Foundation Cancer Survivorship
program, is designed to reach out to women living with all forms of cancer at
all stages. The class description
reads:
Whether you’re newly diagnosed, receiving treatment, in remission, or
cured, we invite you to join us. The goal of the class is to provide an
opportunity for all participants to feel a sense of peace, power, and strength.
The class features a healing combination of yoga postures, deep breathing, and
meditation designed to enhance both physical and emotional wellness.

Yoga classes with a similar goal can be found at studios,
hospitals, and cancer treatment facilities across the country and around the
world. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer
Center has its own in-house Exercise and Yoga Program, as part of the center’s
Integrative Medicine Service. Other services include acupuncture, hypnotherapy, nutrition, facilitated mindfulness practice groups,
massage, Qi Gong, and music therapy - an
impressive laundry list of complimentary modalities.

RESTORING BODY AND SOUL

One particularly challenging side effect of living with cancer
can be a person’s relationship to sleep.
It can be hard to fall asleep and the quality of sleep is reduced. Similarly, many cancer patients report an
ongoing and chronic sense of fatigue.
Yoga, in particular restorative yoga utilizing supportive yoga props, can
work wonders in counteracting these difficulties. “My class always includes restorative poses
in order to invite a deep release,” says Meeder. “Living with cancer is like living in a
constant state of trauma with a continuously ignited ‘flight or flight’ reflex,
so it is crucial that I offer ways to soothe the nervous system.”

Using yoga blocks and bolsters, women in Meeder’s class are
invited to hold restorative poses that nourish and support the joints,
encourage lymphatic release, and over time help to rebuild a compromised range
of motion.
Upper body mobility is a
particularly challenging element of recovery from mastectomy. “Anything we can do to open and close the
arms, and get into the shoulders and upper back really helps,” says
Meeder.

Although classes like Meeder’s offer huge benefits for the
weakened and exhausted physical body, ultimately they are not about bodily
rebuilding. They are about holistically
fueling the most elemental ingredient in the fight against cancer:
hope. “The most amazing thing is to see women walk
out of class feeling hopeful that they won’t stay stuck in a place of pain and
restriction forever. Think about that. It is truly powerful.”

Do you offer yoga for
cancer patients at your studio? Do you know of a venue that does in your
community? We invite you to celebrate Breast Cancer Awareness month by becoming
an Egg Donor! We’ll help you send THRIVE Pink Eggs to your local provider of
yoga for cancer patients.